Love Bites
by Mrs.McGinty08
Summary: There's one more zombie in town when Julie is bitten. How will this affect her relationship with R? Will it weaken their relationship or make it stronger? Collaboration fic with neontreeslover
1. Dreaming

R P.O.V.

"Julie, I'm so s-s-sorry…Julie" I replied, defeated.

I had never meant to hurt her. Heck, I didn't want to hurt anyone. It was this damned zombie reflex. I've been undead for a while now, so I've spent plenty of time observing and learning our mannerisms. Whenever we are faced with threats to our survival, unity, or in some cases, feelings that we don't know what to do with, we attack. At least, that was the case for me. Julie's boyfriend had threatened my survival and the unity of the group. Call it melodramatic, but that was the only way I knew to react.

The sad, pain stricken expression Julie had on her face when I gave her the watch was almost too much to bear. Seeing her like that made me want to die all over again. And knowing the fact that it was my fault, well, that made me hate myself even more. If only I had thought before acting. If only I had let him kill me. But it was too late for ifs now. Her boyfriend was gone and I was nothing but the monster that took his life and caused her pain.

That being said, I envied Julie. At least she could feel, love, and most importantly, be loved in return. And then there was me. Numb and alone. Part of me wanted to take the pain away from her, to make her feel better. Also, part of me wanted to feel pain again.

I closed my eyes and was immediately transported into a different world, a scenic world full of bright, vivid colours. Julie, her friend, and her ex-boyfriend were there, talking to each other. They seemed happy.

"What the hell are you doing here? Are you actually dreaming right now?" Julie's ex-boyfriend, I believe his name was Perry, asked. I looked behind me, who was he talking to?

"I'm not sure" I replied honestly upon realizing that he was talking to me. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced. At least, anything I had experienced as a zombie.

"You can't dream, corpse. Dreaming's for humans" Perry retaliated smugly. I couldn't really blame him for treating me like this. I mean, I DID eat him.

"Chill out, Per. He can dream if he wants to…" Julie cut in, walking towards me in a trance-like state. "…What about you, R? What do you want to be?" she asked, gazing into my eyes, searching.

"I don't know. I don't even know what I am" I replied, sadly. I haven't known who or what I am for a very long time now.

"Well you can be whatever you want. Isn't that what they say?" She replied, reassuringly. Its moments like these that make me realize how remarkable and unique she truly is.

"We can, right? You and me?" I asked, timidly. I was never good with women, and to make matters worse, I had a fear of rejection. I was so used to people running away from me. Then Julie did something that surprised me, she NODDED!

"It's not gonna happen, lover boy. Not after you told her you ate her ex" Perry chimed in, mocking me. He was right. The likelihood of anything happening with Julie is slim. I did kill her boyfriend and murder never gets you the girl.

"Shrug" Julie replied with a smile, shrugging.

I woke up with a start. Wait…I woke up? Was I dreaming?!


	2. The Not-So-Great Escape

Julie P.O.V.

I feel like a total coward but I can't stay with R anymore. He ate Perry!

I know that it isn't his fault, it's not like he can help it, but I don't know how I can face him again. Things will be awkward beyond repair now, so it's probably best that I leave. Besides, Nora and my dad are probably worried sick about me.

I looked over at R lying on the floor, eyes closed, and wondered whether or not I should say goodbye to him before I leave. Part of me, a very big part, didn't want to leave at all. This part wanted me to say goodbye, in hopes that he would convince me to stay. One look into those beautiful steely grey eyes is all it would take and I knew it. So I did what I thought was best. I decided to disappear.

I put on my now dry clothes and quietly slipped out onto the street, gun in hand. It was a ghost town, the only people currently inhabiting it being myself and R, so why I was armed and acutely aware of my surroundings I didn't know.

I paced the sidewalk, unsure of my next move. Every fiber of my being wanted to turn around, go back into the house, and curl up in bed again. But I couldn't do that…could I?

I was lost in my thoughts when I heard a shriek and felt something collide with me, snapping me back to reality. I looked at my attacker and realized that it was a zombie. I cussed under my breath. This was just perfect.

I tried to wriggle free of her grasp to no avail and raised my gun as much as I could, trying to aim for her head. Unfortunately, I could only raise my gun enough to aim at her stomach. I pulled the trigger anyway, firing a bullet into her stomach, and causing her to stumble backwards temporarily. I used her temporary disorientation to my advantage, raising my gun, aiming it at her head. I was ready to fire when she lunged at me again, pinning me to the ground. I was trapped. I wanted to shoot her, but during the collision, I had dropped my gun. I wriggled defenselessly under the dead weight of the zombie, incapable of defending myself. This was it.

R P.O.V.

I had to tell Julie!

I looked over at the bed, expecting to see her still curled up, fast asleep, but instead I saw an empty bed, sheets crumpled and tossed to the side. Where was she? Where did she go?

In a panic, I got up and stumbled around the house trying to find her. When I had searched the whole house, I went outside as quickly as I could to continue my search. It was then that I noticed Julie in a struggle with one of us, the personal trainer from the airport, and her gun a few feet away from her. She needed help and fast! I stumbled as quickly as my feet would carry me. I had to get to Julie, to save her before…

Julie P.O.V.

The zombie grabbed my wrist and bit down into my flesh, causing me to scream in pain. Why I screamed I didn't know. The place was deserted and nobody would hear my cries anyway. Except maybe R.

R. The only guy, zombie or otherwise, who has ever made me feel truly protected and safe. I remembered the day I first met him. I had found it weird that he had saved me, had not eaten me, but there was something about him that was just so…genuine and endearing. I remembered his eyes, pleading with me not to go, when I had tried to escape from the airport, and how he had placed his hand on my chest above my heart to show his sympathy for my unhappiness. I wished he was here now…

R P.O.V.

I was torn from my internal monologue upon hearing Julie scream. I ran closer to where she was now sprawled out on the pavement and could see teeth marks on her wrist. She had been bitten. What was I supposed to do now? If I don't get rid of the intruder she'll eat Julie's brains and I'll lose her forever, but if I was to get rid of her, Julie would turn into a monster like me. It's really a lose-lose situation but for me, the choice was an easy one.

I picked up Julie's gun, aiming it at the zombie's head from behind and with some difficulty, pulled the trigger. I saw the zombie go limp and caught her before she could collapse on top of Julie, laying her on the pavement. I hated being the one to take her life, but I knew I had no choice. I dropped to my knees at Julie's side and grabbed her hand. She looked terrified.

"It's ok. I'm h-here. Keep you s-safe" I encouraged, squeezing her hand.

She smiled at me, tears falling down her cheeks. I couldn't help but smile back and gaze into her blue eyes which almost immediately changed to a steely grey colour.

The transformation had begun.


	3. Madness

Julie P.O.V.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, convulsing and thrashing on the ground. I was seeing things, things that I knew I shouldn't be seeing, and it scared me.

"R! Over there!" I screamed, pointing across the street, frantically.

R turned his head in the direction I was pointing, a mix of fear and sympathy visible in his steel grey eyes.

"N-nothing th-there" He replied, comfortingly wiping hair out of my face.

What did he mean there was nothing there! He was right there! Perry was standing there, coming apart, piece by piece. I missed him so much that I could feel my heart break. How on earth could R NOT see him?! I began to cry, trembling like a leaf.

"Perry!" I screamed, crying even harder, if that was possible.

"D-don't c-cry" R soothed, kissing my forehead, trying to calm me down. He looked like he was on the verge of tears himself and the fact that he was hurting made me feel even worse.

I tried to stop crying and calm my breathing but I was too terrified. To make matters worse, I could barely hear R's words of comfort and reassurance over the near-deafening voice in my head that was repeating 'eat, eat, eat', causing me to cover my ears in hopes of silencing it. It didn't work.

"Make it stop!" I screamed through my sobs, to nobody in particular.

"I'm s-so s-sorry" R apologized, helplessly. It was as if he thought this was somehow all his fault.

I grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, squeezing harder upon seeing something that left me too terrified for words.

It was my mom. I was seeing my mom. I wasn't seeing her as she had been though, no, I was seeing her as she was after she had turned. It was all too much and I closed my eyes as tightly as I could, willing it all to go away, willing the voices to stop and willing the hunger to go away.

It must have been too much for my body to take because that was when everything went black as I slipped into a sea of unconsciousness.


	4. Awakening

Julie P.O.V.

I came to again, who knows how much later, and took in my surroundings. I was in the city; the suburbs I think. My throat was burning and I could smell everything- and by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. I could smell the tar of the road, the must and mildew of the decaying houses, and another smell that I couldn't identify. It smelled absolutely delectable, like the sweetest nectar in existence, and yet, I couldn't put a name to it. All I knew is that I wanted it-badly.

Wait a minute…who am I? I thought hard, turning over every stone and leaf in the wilderness that is my mind, to no avail. What's wrong with me?! I can't remember my own name! I (whoever I am) looked around dazedly, not really seeing anything until my eyes landed on someone. He had black hair and was wearing blue jeans, a red hoodie, and a grey shirt.

I saw him begin to approach me and panicked. A million worst case scenarios ran through my mind. Was he going to kill me? Kidnap me? Sell me? Okay, I'm willing to admit that last one is a long shot, but I have every right to be worried. I'm not exactly doing well right now!

He shuffled closer before stopping right in front of me. I looked up into his steely grey eyes looking for any trace of deception and violence and found none. He had a kind calmness about him that put my mind at ease. There was something really familiar about him too…

"R…" He introduced pointing to himself. "Ju-lie" He added, pointing at me with a small smile. It's as if he knew I couldn't remember my name. Apparently my name is Julie.

"Ju-lie" I stammered out after what felt like a decade, pointing at myself. Great, I lost my speech too. What's wrong with me?

"R" I stammered, pointing at him. The guy—R nodded and smiled a bigger smile. I smiled in return. One thing I knew for sure, I must know this guy R, and if the way I'm feeling right now is any indication, I must have loved him.

"Zom-bie" R stated, pointing at me, eyes pleading with me to understand.

I whirled around as quickly as I was capable of, which wasn't very quickly since my reflexes were now abnormally slow, expecting to see a zombie behind me, teeth about to take a chunk out of me. When I saw nothing, I turned back to face R, confused. I stood there staring into space for a moment.

"You w-were bit" R clarified, biting down in a demonstrative way.

Inside I was screaming. I tried to tell myself that it couldn't be true, that this was all some cruel joke and I was only not feeling well. But the more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that R was right. Like it or not, I was a zombie now.


End file.
